


Eyes Green as Envy

by doppeldonger



Series: Ships from the Borderlands [5]
Category: Borderlands (Video Games), Tales from the Borderlands - Fandom
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-21
Updated: 2017-04-21
Packaged: 2018-10-22 02:03:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,871
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10687503
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/doppeldonger/pseuds/doppeldonger
Summary: Timothy envies Rhys because he has it all. Rhys is just happy he has Timothy.





	Eyes Green as Envy

**Author's Note:**

> For hyperioncompanyman on tumblr

There’s a tall figure standing by the grand windows when he enters the office, watching the city almost fifty floors down buzz with life. The sun has started to set, which gives the inhabitants about four hours to bask in the golden light reflecting off of the windows of the various buildings, architecture crisp and meticulously ostentatious.

He walks towards the person clad in a magnificent shade of midnight blue, fully aware of how shabby his own clothes look in comparison; all the wear-and-tear of the wildlife out there is taking its toll on his clothes as well as he himself, after all.

His boss turns to look at Timothy with a genuine smile on his face, opening his arms in a welcoming gesture. His mismatched eyes are bright with excitement, warm happiness gracing his features when the ex vault hunter walks up to him with a tired smile of his own (which is plastered on his face out of courtesy rather than actual joy, to be honest).

Standing just a feet away from his superior, Timothy regards Rhys with a thoughtful expression, choosing to ignore the hug the other was hoping to get. Rhys actually pouts, disappointment contorting his beautiful baby face. Timothy isn’t fooled, however, so he simply walks past the other man with a scoff and stands by the spot Rhys has recently vacated, absentmindedly watching the city below.

Rhys has changed, that much is certain; not a downright trip to ‘murderous psychopath’ like Jack once did, but a change nonetheless. Timothy wasn’t around him when it started, triggered by the AI haunting the cyborg’s mind, but he’s been around Rhys for long enough to notice the differences occurring through time.

He’s gotten smarter, to begin with, and definitely more cunning. He can actually manipulate people, be it with his good looks, mercy or money. He can get downright ruthless when circumstances need him to be, and Timothy wonders if Rhys actually enjoys being so. The bastard has an air of arrogance and pompousness he carries like a prized medallion; he deserves to be like this after all his hard work, doesn’t he?

Somehow, despite the gentle, loving exterior Rhys sports, he has become self-preserved over time; he hides his true feelings along with his intentions under layers and layers of masks not unlike the multi-layered clothes he so lovingly wears.

And he runs Atlas with an iron fist.

Rhys’s Atlas isn’t merciless and empty like old Atlas, but it’s not filled with hubris and backstabbing like Hyperion either. Well, let’s say _just_ not as much.

Honestly, Timothy feels like he got off the lap of one powerful CEO to fall into another’s at this point. He frowns as the sunset washes over him along with everything else, hands tucked angrily into his pockets.

He continues to stand there, frozen in time like a statue, stubbornly ignoring the man coming to stand next to him. Rhys seems to consider placing a friendly hand on Timothy’s shoulder, but decides against it when the other man throws him a look that shows that he sees the hand as nothing more than a claw about to strike him.

Timothy is angry at himself more than anything at this point, because he knows, deep in his heart, that he can’t help but continue being in the orbit of a man in the position of power. It’s not because his brain or heart (or hell, his dick) dictates him to…

…it’s because he’s envious.

He envies the money, the power, the fancy clothes and expensive cars. He’s envious of Rhys’s guns, of his apartment, of his office.

But the most important of all, he’s envious of Rhys’s happiness.

Being the man with a tyrant’s face that’s long bitten the dust in a now-forgotten vault, the attitude he has to put up with on a daily basis ranges from mild annoyance to downright insults; and despite all the precautions Rhys has taken against the shitty response Timothy is getting, it just continues.

But then again Timothy has changed, too. He has suffered Jack’s abuse (first-hand, unlike Rhys), he escaped and hid, he fought and survived. All alone, until one random accident, one hiccup in well-woven plans had Rhys and Timothy meet; just their weird luck… or fate, maybe.

While Rhys ruled the company he came to own thanks to being the ultimate fanboy (and the ultimate destruction) of Handsome Jack, Timothy ended up traveling the shithole planet, first for Jack himself, then for him. 

Rhys climbed the stairs of corporate assholery five steps at a time, finding Opportunity among the wilderness of Pandora and building it anew. The city, now aptly named Serenity, houses ex-Hyperion workers as well as Pandorans and Hyperion bots who have gained sentience since Handsome Jack’s death. 

Timothy stayed as the underdog, nothing but an errand boy sent to look for tech that could improve Atlas and recruits that could help the company grow. He got better with guns and vault hunting, with torture and destruction; he grew stronger, and he grew numb.

And despite everything, he stayed; always static as opposed to Rhys’s dynamic, and unlike the reason of his anger right now, it is not envy or despair that chains him to the other man. Deep inside, he knows the Atlas CEO didn’t do anything to ruin Timothy’s life; and although he’s vexed, he can’t take his anger out on Rhys, because none of it is his fault.

They’re _so_ like and unlike Jack, and they share _so_ many similarities with and differences from one another that they grew fond of each other, and grew together.

“What are you angry at?” Soft words snap him out of his annoyed reverie, he realizes he’s been giving Rhys a deep, dangerous frown, his lips pulled taut in an almost-snarl.

“You.” He crosses his arms.

Rhys looks confused for a moment (of course he does, that bastard) and inclines his head to the side, “Why?”

Timothy curls in on himself and growls, “I don’t know.” 

Rhys chances to move closer to the other man despite the glare he receives, “I think you do.” He gently caresses the other man’s cheek with his flesh hand, fingers catching on the hick beard gracing his thin face. Timothy tries to shake him off, albeit only half-heartedly. His reluctance to punch Rhys gives the taller man enough courage to get close, crowding Timothy’s personal space; he snakes his arms around the former doppelgänger, nuzzling into his neck, breathing in the familiar scent of Timothy. “Someone pissed you off again?” Rhys mumbles into the other’s skin, leaving a kiss along with the question. Timothy graces him with more of his annoyed growls, but Rhys counts it as a win when the other leans into his touch.

“Same old, same old.” Timothy replies, eyes not meeting Rhys’s. The CEO can feel the other tense under his arms, “Just tell me.” His voice is cold and distant, not because of Timothy, but because of the currently-anonymous asshole who dared upset his lover. A quiet “Nevermind.” earns the shorter man a shake and he eventually gives up, turning to look up at Rhys.

“Gosh, just… stop with the face already.” he chides, gently hitting Rhys’s chest to stop him from worrying his lower lip between his teeth so hard. “It was just some idiots who said someone like me shouldn’t be with you.”

“Were these their exact words? Come now, Tim, don’t sugarcoat it for me; I’m a big boy, I can handle it.” Rhys’s lighthearted tone makes Timothy snicker involuntarily for a moment.

“Well… it was more like ‘a piece of trash like him has no right to be the CEO’s bitch’ but yeah, you get the meaning.” There’s a crease forming between Rhys’s brows, and that alone is enough to ring alarm bells in Timothy’s head. Something bad is gonna happen and he can’t say he complains.

“Did they say it all to your face?” the CEO asks, pulling the other closer to him protectively. Timothy can appreciate the notion, although it’s silly.

“They were talking behind my back, but noticing I was hearing everything they said didn’t change anything, as they continued to mock me in my face.”

“Okay, tell me who they are, describe them to me, and I’ll take this matter in my hands.” He sounds so damn cold, and so damn sure of himself that Timothy is all the more envious of him.

“Just let it go, okay? It’s not like they’re wrong anyway.” He makes a move to turn away from Rhys, but the other man prevents him from doing so.

“What do you mean?”

Timothy sighs and pets Rhys’s cheek mock-affectionately, “For a big company’s CEO, you’re awfully dense sometimes, Rhys.” He turns in the other man’s arms to fully face him, gently interlocking his fingers behind Rhys’s head. “Just look at me. See me for who I represent to all these people. They have every right to despise me, I’m honestly surprised they haven’t offed me yet. We both suffered, Rhys, I know; but you ended up cleansing yourself of your mistakes and sins while I stayed the same, all the more hated, just because I have this stupid face.” Trying to swallow the lump in his throat along with the tears in his eyes, Timothy focuses on the view outside once again, sniffling slightly.

Rhys’s hands grip his waist all the more tightly, “Tim…”

“Don’t 'Tim…’ me-”

“No, you listen to me, alright? I love you, Timothy Lawrence, I love you with all my heart. You’re one of the bravest, funniest and most resourceful people I’ve had the chance to meet; and as cliché as it sounds, you’re something else. I can’t even imagine what you must have gone through in the past, and I can’t possibly relate to how you feel right now; but I’m here for you, always. I care about you and your well being, more so than you yourself do. So just… don’t leave me out when you’re having problems, with other people or with your own past and demons.” Rhys sighs, searching the other man’s face, “I guess we’re just different kinds of fucked up and that’s how we clicked so well the moment we met.” Timothy lets out a wet laugh at that, hugging Rhys close. “So… promise me we’ll always talk, share and figure things out no matter what?” he asks, voice muffled by Timothy’s collar. The other man raises his head, giving him a nod.

As it is custom to end every climactic argument with a heated kiss, their mouths find each other, a gentle caress breezing through their lips. Timothy sighs into the kiss and so does Rhys; but before they can take it to the next level, the CEO leans back, “You still haven’t told me these assholes’ names.”

Timothy gives him a lopsided, entertained grin, “There’s no need, Rhys, they’re already dead.”

 _Unbelievable_. The man just went full drama queen over a bunch of people he already got rid of. Rhys shakes his head and matches the other man’s grin. They have grown in the past years, but some characteristics stay the same throughout one’s life, it seems.

  


**Author's Note:**

> Dicktating, am I right?


End file.
